Without cell phones, email, or faxes, the early believers kept in touch. It seems from his writings that Paul knew the spiritual state of most if not every assembly within his sphere of influence. Although constantly harassed by civil and religious authorities, the
Christians doggedly pursued their goal of world evangelization. The Jewish Sanhedrin, the Roman Empire, the Gates of Hell, could not stop them. Occasionally it looked like one thing would stop them—division (Acts 6:1-5; also chs. 11 and 15)! But the matters were wisely and quickly resolved, and the gospel work continued unabated.
“How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!…there the Lord commanded the blessing” (Ps. 133:1, 3). I know there are challenges, but if there is any place that those committed to the principles of New Testament gathering should be able to unite, it should be around the gospel banner and against our common foe. Blessed (though often bloodied) are the peacemakers.
We were heartened by the hundred intrepid souls who gathered from various assemblies to labor together in the gospel in Minot, ND. We salute them for their courage and grace, trusting the Lord inspires many more co-operative efforts like this. I dare say it brought joy to the heart of the One who prayed, “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me” (Jn. 17:21).
That last phrase reminds us that we cannot expect the sinner to believe he can be reconciled to a holy God if we cannot even be reconciled to one another. And if we have the Lord’s approval, what is the criticism of men? “A very small thing” indeed (1 Cor. 4:3).
I understand the problems: what kind of gospel effort; what kind of music, if any; what kind of dress for participants; and the nature of the assembly that hopefully will result. But surely reasonable brethren can discuss and resolve these matters when the honor of God, the salvation of souls, and the blessing of the saints lie in the balance. As Paul would write: “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect [mature], be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you” (Phil. 3:15). Paul was not expecting some Christians to relinquish God-given convictions based on clear biblical truth; but if it is the Lord’s work and we are His servants, surely He can show us all how He wants it to be done. So what would a united New Testament-style strategy look like? Here are a few suggestions.
1. We would follow their path. Let’s look at the way the apostles worked. In Acts 14, Luke lays it out for us in point form so we don’t miss it: “And when they had PREACHED THE GOSPEL to that city, and had TAUGHT MANY, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, CONFIRMING THE SOULS of the disciples, and EXHORTING THEM to continue in the faith, and [WARNING THEM ] that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ORDAINED THEM ELDERS IN EVERY CHURCH, and had PRAYED WITH FASTING , they COMMENDED THEM to the Lord, on whom they believed” (vv. 21-23). There it is: preaching, teaching, confirming, exhorting, warning, recognizing, praying and commending. It took differing amounts of time to accomplish this (several weeks to two years). But they began with unbelievers and left with functioning
elders within that time frame.
This has been done in modern times as well. Read J. J. Rouse’s Pioneer Work in Canada or the biography of Donald Ross. The work of Oliver Smith in Iowa is a good example of persistent and effective gospel work followed by the establishment of assemblies, as are the concerted efforts in Newfoundland. The early days in North Carolina proved fruitful ground when evangelists were followed by those who shepherded and instructed new believers. Southwestern Ontario has examples where John Martin and his fellow workers have labored. And this field was the inspiration for the establishment of scores of works in Belgium in a relatively short period of time. But it is no part-time hobby. It is real work. Team work. The Lord’s work.
In his book It Can Be Done, William Williams tells of the way a handful of missionaries took on the challenge of the country of Venezuela. In one generation they thoroughly evangelized it, preaching the gospel in every city, town and village in the country. There is no reason it cannot be done here as well. The thrilling works in many other countries could also be cited.
2. No one would need to work alone. I know servants of the Lord in North America who are great evangelists. They see people saved. But the baby lambs drift off after a while, looking for grass because they are not being fed. Who will move to such places, get a job to pay the bills, and then minister to these fledgling believers through teaching the Word?
O that the Lord would raise up an army of young couples willing, like Priscilla and Aquila, to move to new areas, get tent-making jobs, then use their homes as beachheads for the gospel and havens for new believers (see Acts18:18). But how much better if at least two couples could labor together in establishing new outposts for the Lord.
If Christians, instead of playing in the shallows, will “launch out into the deep” to catch “a draught of fishes,” not just ones and twos, they will need our help. “And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships” (see Lk. 5:1-7).
At present a few couples are seeking to do just this, but I fear they receive little encouragement. They need our regular prayers, plus calls, visits, and practical ministry. They should not feel they are laboring alone and forgotten (see note from Lakeland, FL in Front Lines, for example).
3. We would see North America as a mission field. If a missionary came from some other continent, we would find it quite appropriate if he used a map with locations marked to show existing assemblies and areas where work was needed. But do we get out our maps to look at North America? Do we have the facts about the people groups in the area where we are hoping to evangelize? Do we study the beliefs of those we long to see saved?
The early believers certainly had done their homework. Paul capitalized on the differences in belief between Sadducees and Pharisees (Acts 22). He knew what the Stoics and Epicureans believed as well as the Jews gathered at Mars’ Hill (Acts 17). And John had to understand the Gnostic philosophy in order to effectively answer its false claims. We shouldn’t expend our lives learning about every cult, but we should care enough to learn the mental impediments that people have in coming to Christ. The Bible has a specific answer to every specific challenge, whether to the cults that visit our doors (to whom we must speak with both grace and truth) or those waves of Hindus, Moslems and Buddhists flooding our countries.
4. We would keep in touch better. I spoke to a pioneer in Montana recently. I asked, “Would you say that there are about 20 assemblies in North America that even know you exist?” He thought that was about right. But it’s not right. We need to be better informed, be in touch more, help each other more. Of course that means we’ll have to do other things less to free up our resources. But what an encouragement it would be if each week we asked a smaller assembly for their prayer list, and called an isolated worker somewhere to pass on some much needed encouragement. This will become increasingly important as we pray and plan to see the Lord thrust hundreds of workers out into the white harvest fields on this continent.
5. We would share resources. The Jerusalem council (Acts 15) is a good example of responsible brethren with a mutual concern, meeting to maintain a co-ordinated and united front against the enemy. Would it not be wise for like-minded men involved in the care of God’s people to meet regularly and regionally? They would not only want a time for prayer, encouragement (through the Word and positive reports of the Lord’s blessing); there should be times to speak of needs to be met in struggling area assemblies and how best to help them—not always by sending Sunday speakers. They may need help fixing up their building. Or a visit from our young people to help with a children’s outreach. Or their struggling elders may need a prayer, discussion, and encouragement time with other elders.
Let’s remember that there are two aspects to the life of the Body. Our interconnectedness is not only at the local church level but with other assemblies of believers as well (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:12).
Uplook Magazine, September 2004
Written by J. B. Nicholson Jr